Miami’s Mario Cristobal takes blame for no-kneel meltdown

College Football

By Bridget Reilly

Miami coach Mario Cristobal regrets not taking a knee in what would have been a Hurricanes’ win over Georgia Tech on Saturday.

Rather, he opted for a running play with 33 seconds left in the 20-17 game, which led to a fumble by Donald Chaney Jr. and a 74-yard drive by the Yellow Jackets in 25 seconds to steal a 23-20 victory.

Haynes King’s 44-yard touchdown pass to Christian Leary sealed Georgia Tech’s third win of the season and Miami’s first loss.

“I made the wrong call,” Cristobal said at his weekly news conference. “I take full ownership in not taking a knee and giving them the opportunity to have a couple extra plays and preventing us from sealing the win.”

Miami has not done the kneel-down in any of their five games this season and has instead handed the ball off, yet Saturday was their first one-score game in which the opposing team also had no timeouts remaining.

 “We didn’t do it Saturday, and we should have,” Cristobal said, adding that they practice the end-of-game formation.

The second-year coach at Miami has received a great deal of criticism since the decision and must find a way to turn things around before their upcoming game against No. 12 North Carolina on Saturday night.

“We expected a good response today, and that’s what we got,” Cristobal said of Monday’s practice. “There’s a lot of conviction in our preparation and processes. The guys are very eager to get back to work and prepare for this weekend’s opportunity.”

The matchup is a must-win for the Hurricanes to stay in the ACC race and with three other teams in the division undefeated, Miami cannot afford to lose another in conference play.